Dole Packaged Foods unveils new US frozen fruit facility

Dole Packaged Foods has opened a third frozen fruit facility in the US, as it seeks to strengthen its services for customers on the east coast.

Located in McDonough, Georgia, the new 60,000-square-foot facility will have four manufacturing lines, which are expected to be able to produce 60 million pounds of frozen fruit annually when at capacity.

Dole claims that its fruit is picked at the ‘peak of ripeness’ and flash frozen to retain the nutrients and vitamins that are found in fresh fruit.

Serving the east coast area, the facility will package frozen fruit for Dole customers in the retail, foodservice and private label channels.

Production has already begun in a phased approach, and the facility is expected to employ a workforce of more than 100 when at full speed.

Dole says that it has partnered with United States Cold Storage which will handle the warehousing and distribution in an adjacent building.

“We are very pleased to have this facility operational,” said Sunil Phabiani, vice president, North America supply chain & operations at Dole Packaged Foods.

“One of our company’s main initiatives is to provide access to good nutrition for a billion people in the next few years. This operation will help us achieve this goal.”

Last year, Dole Packaged Foods expanded its range of smoothie kits with a keto-certified frozen fruit blend and a new line of three Dole Boosted Blends.